Corruption
by selieagarrison
Summary: it is 2 years after the end of Test of Loyalty. Bree is 7 now and has begun her training. things look bright for the family of three, but all that is to be interupted. rated for posible blood and gore.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I don't own Assassin's Creed. I thank Sorafi Lynn Mioto for letting me use her ocs Fenice and Eagle in this story, and this is the sequal to Test of Loyalty, also by Sorafi Lynn Mioto, so go read that first, then read this and R&R please.**

It had been seven years since Fenice and I were blessed with our little daughter Gabriella Anna, whom we just called Bree. She had already begun basic assassin training, nothing too dangerous, mind you, and I had deemed it time she learn the ways of my family – the art of conning our foes. Though I had become quite good at the art myself, I knew there was one person who would be able to get her started better then I, my father, Gabriel, who has lived with my mother and brother, Caine, before he moved out with his own wife, in Jerusalem since we had to flee from our home in Romania. So that meant one thing, and one thing only, a family trip to the center of the Holy Land.

Bree was quiet excited as we walked to the stables from the fortress, running ahead of Fenice and myself some ways before turning around and shouting for us to hurry up. I chuckled, not worried about her so long as I could see her, much unlike my husband. Fenice was two years younger then I, though he acted older, always worrying about Bree and myself. Even when we are together, safe and sound, he worried about us. Perhaps it was because of what happened before Bree was born, but there were other things too, that, though at the time, didn't seem that significant, could very well have lead to his state of mind that I must remain safe. Then I laughed at myself for being so absent minded as to forget his promise to protect me, realizing Fenice put too much stress on his own shoulders, only sharing the burden now and again.

We reached the stables and I placed Bree on a black mare that seemed to only behave when I rode it, then I climbed on myself behind her, taking the reigns in my hand before following next to Fenice once he got on his own horse.

"How long until we are at bunică and bunic's (grandmother and grandfather's)?" Bree asked, looking up at me.

I smiled back at her, "A couple of days, sweetie. Jerusalem is a ways away."

She pouted slightly at me, which earned us both a slight chuckle from Fenice. Both Bree and I gave mocking glares to him, turning his chuckling to laughter, which got us laughing too.

"I see someone's a little excited," he said with a smile, "But be patient dear. Try not to think about it and the trip will go by faster."

Bree nodded energetically and gave her most determined look to the horizon ahead as we took off towards Jerusalem.

We had been on the rode a week and a half when the walls of Jerusalem came into view. Bree had grown restless during the ride and Fenice and I had run out of ideas to keep her entertained. We had been switch off back and forth as to who Bree rode with, so neither Fenice nor I were in any sort of discomfort in our saddles for too terribly long. She seemed to enjoy that a lot and would ask to ride with whom ever she wasn't already riding with when she got board as it seemed to entertain her.

I prayed that our lack of assassin uniforms would allow us to slip into the city without any trouble from the guards as we approached the stables. Bree had been placed back on my horse before we reached the city, so I reached up and pulled her down off it, setting her on the ground. Fenice and I each took one of her hands in our own as we walked towards the entrance of the city, not wishing to lose her in the crowds.

"Mommy," Bree whispered as she tugged at the hem of my tunic, "We need to hide. There are guards. They'll see us."

Fenice and I smiled down at her. "Don't worry," I said, "We're safe."

She gave us both a confused look, but remained silent as we walk through the streets. As we continued on, I got the feeling we were being followed. I turned my head slightly and gazed at the person following us from the corner of my eye. A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I saw it was my brother and I turned around, letting go of Bree's hand as I did so. She reached back for it, her fingers brushing mine as I walked.

"Um, Gabri, where are you-," Fenice began until he saw my brother and I embrace one another in a hug.

"Daddy, who is that?" I just barely heard Bree whisper to Fenice.

Kneeling so he was at Bree's level he said, "That's mommy's brother, Caine."

"Oh…" she said, "Daddy, do you have a brother?"

Caine let go of me and looked down at little Bree before speaking, "Who's the kid?"

Looking between Caine and Bree for a moment before responding, "Um…that's my daughter, Caine."

Caine remained silent for a long moment, "Oh, Doamne! (Oh, my God!) Are you serious?!"

"Da. (Yes.)" I said, before turning back to Fenice and Bree and the three of us continued to my parent's home, Caine following close behind.

"Wait! You didn't tell you parents about Bree yet?" Fenice almost shouted at me.

Nervously I rubbed the back of my head, "Ah…no…I was a little more concerned with taking care of her and it slipped my mind. Now you two stay here and I'll tell them then let you in."

"Fine," Fenice said, sounding quite irritated as he leaned against the wall and I walked in.

"Mamă! Tată! (Mother! Father!)" I called out in Romanian as I walked in through the main room.

My mother came in the room first, wrapping me in a hug, "Gabriella! Este atât de bine să te văd din nou! (It's so good to see you again!) What brings you here?"

"Mamă, I have a surprise for you and Tată," I said, returning the hug.

"What sort of surprise," I heard my father say from behind me.

I turned around and faced him, "I ask for you aide in training my little girl in our family's trade."

He looked slightly confused at first, but it was interrupted by a joyous sound of some sort from my mother, "Oh, my little girl is a mother! When did this happen?"

"Heh," I said, nervous now, "About seven years ago."

"What?" the asked in unison, attempting to glare at me, but not doing a very good job, "And you waited this long to tell us?"

"Imi pare rau. (I'm sorry.) I didn't mean to not tell you, but every time I was here I was focused on my mission so I could get back home to her and Fenice faster," I walked over to the front door, "They're here with me now. I wanted to give you a heads up before bringing her in."

I opened the door and motion for Fenice to bring Bree in. He nodded and walked in, believing the girl was right at his heels as normal. When he entered the room, my parents looked between us, confused.

"Um, Gabi, where is this daughter of yours?" my mother asked.

Turning my head to look at Fenice, my eyes scovered the area around him quickly, "Fenice. Where is Bree?"

His eyes grew wide and he turned around, looking to where she should be, "Oh fuck."


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome back people! Here is chapter 2.**

We had been searching for half an hour when I began to really panic and felt it a good idea to enlist the help of Malik and the novices he presided over.

"Missing?" he asked, confused, "What do you mean by 'missing'?"

I spoke quickly, surprised by the fact that I hadn't crossed over to Romanian, "I brought her so my parents could meet her and left her and Fenice outside while I told them and then when I told them to come in she was gone!"

It took a second for the severity of this entire situation to sink in. When it did, he shoved me outside and told me to continue looking while he rounded up the novices from the training ground. I feebly nodded and went back to combing the streets for her.

No matter where we looked she wasn't there. I didn't what to believe that our continued search was useless, but our little progress in finding her wasn't helping my moral. It was starting to get dark. Soon we wouldn't be able to see and we'd have to go get torches to light our way in the streets, limiting where we could search. The novices were beginning to complain, saying that this wasn't worth their training or their time.

I sat on a bench a few feet away from one of the hay carts in the square, shaking. I was afraid. Afraid that I had lost my little girl with no hope of finding her. I let out a sob as I covered my face with my hands. This was too much. No matter where we looked we couldn't find her. I just hoped that she hadn't gotten taken by the guards or Templars. With a sigh, I stood and whipped my face with the back of my hand, just now noticing the hay cart.

It was as good a place as any to look. I was sure we'd already checked all of them, but I wasn't about to give up another opportunity. I leaned over the cart and began tossing the hay around to see if anyone was in there. As I moved a bit of hay, I saw a small boot much like the ones Bree wore. I touched it lightly and it pulled away. Carefully, I reached my hand in, grasping the ankle and lightly pulling. A sharp pain ripped through my arm and I pulled it out. A think line of blood began to ooze down my arm. With a hopeful smile, I silently climbed into the cart, trying not to rustle the hay.

"Bree?" I whispered.

Her head popped out of the hay, "Mommy! You need to hide from the guards."

I smiled and pulled her into my lap, hugging her tightly, "No, dear. There's no reason to hide."

She gave me a confused look.

"Bree," I began, "We dressed as civilians so we wouldn't be detected. And you shouldn't have run off like that. Everyone has been searching for you for hours."

"Why?" she asked as I climbed out of the cart, "I did as I was taught and hid from the guards."

I pulled her out and set her on the ground, "When we're dressed as civilians, the guards can't tell we're assassins. You had is worried sick."

"Sorry Mommy."

I kissed her forehead and took her hands as we began walking, "We'll deal with this later. For now, let's just get back."

She nodded, matching my pace as we walked.

We had stopped at the edge of the rooftop listing to the angry shouts of my parents, followed by the defensive ones of Malik. Bree gave me a questioning look and I held my finger to my lips, telling her to be quiet as I hopped through the opening. My feet landed quietly on the dusty ground. I stood and motioned for Bree to hop down. She looked scared. I held my hands up to her, hoping to make her a little less nervous by showing I would catch her. She nodded nervously before swinging her legs over the side and slipping through the hole, landing in my arms. I set her down and stood by the doorway in such a way to where I wouldn't be seen, listening in on the argument the three of them were having.

"If you knew all this time, why didn't you tell us?!" my mother asked, her voice sounding rather high and hysterical, "Maybe they wouldn't have lost their little girl!"

Malik sighed, "I know, but it wasn't my place."

"Not you place?!" my father shouted, "You're her superior, aren't you? That makes it your place!"

"Look, I-" he started, but was cut off my by mother.

"I don't want your excuses," she said, "You are here behind this damn counter all day, the least you could do is tell us about her granddaughter."

I could hear the venom in Malik's words transfer to his expression, "Gabriella is 30 years old. If she didn't want to tell you until now or forgot to, that is none of my concern. I hold no control over her personal life. Only when she is on a mission do I hold any authority over her. I understand why you are angry, but take it up with your daughter, not me. Now, the two of you can both shut up and wait for the other to return, or you can get the hell out of my Bureau."

Everything went silent. With a sigh, I took Bree's hand and walked into the main room, figuring it was as good a time as any to go in. Bree hid slightly behind me as the three already in the room looked over at us when I cleared my throat.

"I found her," I said softly, "Where's Fenice?"

Malik nodded, "He's in the rich district. I'll send a novice out to get him."

My mother's eyes stayed fixed on Bree while my father's stayed on me. Bree scooted farther behind me and I looked down at her, jerking my head slightly to encourage her to come out. She shook her head 'no', obviously frightened by my parents' yelling.

"What's her name?" my mom asked, taking a step closer.

Despite her silent protests, I moved to the side and pulled Bree out in front of me, holding her there, "She's Gabriella Anna de Russo, but we just call Bree."

My parents looked at each other and their faces lit up before looking back at us. My father took a few quick steps closer and kneeled down in front of Bree.

He smiled, "You look just like your mother did when she was your age."

"But I have Tata's eyes," she finally said, making my father's eyes light up again.

"And you're learning Romanian?"

"Da, Bunic," she said with a nod, "Mommy told me she was named after you. Why is that?"

He was caught off guard by the question, unsure of how to answer, and my mother spoke up, "We thought it fit."

"Why don't you go sit in the other room while you wait," Malik said, turning his attention back to the map on the counter, "The novice should be back with Fenice in a bit."

We nodded and I stayed behind as they walked into the other room, Bree leading the way."

"Where was she?" Malik asked.

I watched as Bree became more comfortable around my parents, "A hay stack, hiding from the guards."

"So you did start her training," he commented as he looked up and saw me start to sway, "You alright, Gabriella?"

I shook my head and sat down, my back against the counter, "No. No I don't," I looked over at Bree and my parents, smiling, "Wake me when Fenice gets here, please." I shut my eyes, feeling unconsciousness come.

**Yes. Bree has a knife. She is an assassin in training after all. And don't forget to R&R!**


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter is written by Sorafi Lynn Mioto. All credit for Fenice and Bree (sorta, we made her together) go to her and credit for Malik goes to Ubisoft.**

"Bree! Bree!"

In the seven years I had watched Bree grow and flourish into the young girl that she was that day, not once had I lost her. My mother told me once that Leon went missing when he was two. It didn't hit me what was going through my mother's mind until the current circumstances were in play.

Panic. Fear. Anger. Hope.

It was a parent's natural instinct to panic when their child goes missing. I saw that in myself and in Gabriella's eyes when I walked in her parents' house, expecting Bree to be hot on my heels, and she wasn't there. I was afraid that the guards, or worse, Templars, got a hold of her. I was angry with myself for not keeping a better eye on her and I hoped that, if the worst did happen, that she would use her assassin skills to survive.

"There is no way she could have gotten too far. She's seven!" I mumbled to Gabriella's brother, Caine, who was helping me scour the rich district of Jerusalem. I think that Gabriella mainly wanted him to go with me to prevent me from getting pissed off at some guard and going ballistic on his ass.

"Fenice, this is a city full of guards and Templars." Caine pointed out.

_Thank you, Captain Obvious._

"If one of the guards or a Templar found her, how will she be able to protect herself?"

"She has a knife."

"You gave a seven year old a knife!"

"To protect herself! And it's a small one. It actually a throwing knife."

Caine grumbled something I couldn't hear before he told me, "Ai dat-o mare de timp, Fenice (You screwed up big time, Fenice)."

My hands clenched into fists, ejecting my hidden blade. While I may be dressed as a civilian, I never took my hidden blades off whenever I left Masyaf. "Say that again and you'll meet the same fate Daniel did."

Caine's face turned a shade of white. "You wouldn't do that to your brother-in-law, would you?"

I nodded, glaring at him. "Try me."

"Cineva are un pic de o problemă furie (Someone's got a bit of an anger issue)." Caine mumbled.

"No, I don't have anger issues. It's called no one insults my family and gets away with it." I mumbled.

Caine shrugged it off before getting back to looking. I took this as a hint and continued searching as well.

Hours had passed. I haven't heard anything from anyone about finding Bree, and frankly, I was starting to panic. It had gotten dark, and I knew that if we didn't find Bree soon, we may not ever find her. Caine had long since left, and I was actually grateful that he did. I sighed and sat on a nearby bench, burying my face in my hands.

I felt like I had failed as a parent. "Bree, what have I done wrong?" I asked myself.

"Fenice! There you are!"

I looked up to see one of the novice assassins running up to me. "Any news?" I asked hopefully.

"They found her!"

My eyes lit up. "Where at?"

"Gabriella found her in a wagon of hay. Anna and Gabriel were yelling at Malik just briefly before I left."

The weight of the world seemed to lift itself off of my shoulders. "I'll meet you there." I replied just before scaling the wall behind me.

"Fenice! You're here!" Malik called out as I dropped into the Bureau.

I glanced at Gabriella, who was sleeping on one of the mats. "Why is she…?"

"She wanted me to get her up when you got here." Malik replied, interrupting my question, "I guess looking for Bree wore her out."

"Alright." I mumbled. I looked around the Bureau and asked, "Where's Bree?"

"With Anna and Gabriel."

"That would be where?"

"In the back."

I nodded my thanks and took off towards the back. My heart was pounding. The door seemed to come out of nowhere, and I felt my fingers fumble with the doorknob. Bree's laugh seemed to echo through my ears.

In an instant, the door flew open. Anna and Gabriel's faces were turned to look at me, and the looks they were giving me were looks of confusion. I looked down at their feet, where Bree was standing. I felt my knees collapse and found myself on the floor.

"Tata!" Bree called out, a tone of worry in her voice. She ran over to me and asked, "Tata, are you okay?"

I wrapped Bree in a hug closing my eyes as I felt her breathing against my neck. She stiffened up slightly. "Where were you?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"I did what you and Mama taught me." Bree replied, a hint of confusion in her voice, "I hid from the guards. There were so many!" I picked up a hint of excitement as well, "And they were red. The wagon of hay was white, so I hid there." I opened my eyes and let go of Bree as she pulled away from me. "You were blue too, Daddy."

"Fenice, what is she talking about?" Gabriel asked.

Smiling, I stood up and looked at Gabriel. "She has Eagle Vision."

"What is…?" Gabriel asked, slightly confused.

"It's a talent among the assassins." I explained, "Well, true assassins. It allows us to distinguish friends from enemies, find our targets more easily, and locate hiding spots."

"How?"

"Our allies have blue auras. Our enemies have red auras. Hiding spots appear as white, and our targets have gold auras."

"Everything else?"

"Only shows up as shadows."

This seemed to intrigue Gabriel. "I found out that a person's eyes change, in a sense, when they are using Eagle Vision."

"How?" Anna asked, "People's eyes cannot change."

"There's where you're wrong." I replied, "Their pupils shrink, which doesn't let in as much light, and their eyes glaze over. That's only to the trained eye."

Bree yawned and hid herself behind my legs. "But enough of that." I replied, glancing down at her, "Someone needs to go to bed."

"I don't wanna."

"Bree…" I warned.

"Okay." She mumbled.

"Fenice!" I heard Caine call out, "Gabriella's up!"

I hoisted Bree on my waist, who yawned again and buried her head in my shoulder. "I'll be right there!" I shouted. I looked at Gabriel and added, "I'll make sure Gabri and I bring her by again in the morning."

"Please do." Anna replied, her face beaming.

I sighed. "Alright, let me get Beee in bed then you guys can head out, if you want to."

"We should head out. It's late." Gabriel commented.

Anna nodded in agreement. As I turned to leave, I heard Bree mumble, "Night night Bunica, night night Bunic."

By the time I had reached the main room, Bree had fallen asleep. Gabriella took her and laid her on one of the mats. She crouched next to her and moved some of Bree's hair out of her face. I heard a door open and close, signifying that Gabriel and Anna had left.

"You should have stayed asleep, love." I commented.

Gabriella glared at me. "You should have kept an eye on her. She could have been killed!"

"She has her training."

Gabriella sighed. "I guess we could be thankful for that." She mumbled. She glanced at her arm, which I just now noticed had a gash in it and was bleeding slightly, and said, "I grabbed her ankle and she stabbed me. She didn't know who I was until I hopped in with her."

"Just be glad we gave her the knife in the first place." I replied, sitting down on one of the mats.

Gabriella cuddled up next to me and nodded. "I'm just glad that my parents didn't see her with it."

I smiled. "We really should get to sleep. We have to take Bree by your parents' place in the morning."

Gabriella nodded. She gave me a kiss and mumbled, "Night then."

As I leaned back against the pillows, Gabriella placed her head on my chest. Within minutes, her slow and steady breathing convinced me that she was asleep, and I fell asleep as well.

**R&R please! And check out Sorafi's stories!**


	4. Chapter 4

The visit with my parents had gone better then what I had thought it would. Bree had grown attached to them rather quickly. She was even upset when we had to leave, but we had received word that Fenice and I were needed back in Maysaf. So we waved good bye to them from our horses and we headed back home.

"Can we come visit them again?" Bee asked, looking up at Fenice from her spot on his horse.

He smiled at her, "I don't see why not."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," I said with a smile.

Bree squealed in delight before gripping the horn of the saddle and staring ahead of us with a determined look plastered on her face.

We had made better time getting back from then we had going to Jerusalem. Dusk was had fallen when we arrived at the gates. Bree was still awake, though rather grumpy, but still awake, which surprised both Fenice and me. It was quiet as we walked through the darkening streets. We nodded a greeting to the few guards we passed as we made our way up to the fortress, then to our room, dropping Bree off at her room before Fenice and I made our way to our own room.

Moonlight flooded through the windows as we walked in and began lighting a few of the candles around the room. I dropped my things at the foot of our bed and walked over to the desk before pulling our a sheet of paper and the ink and quill to write to my parents of our safe arrival back home. As soon as I finished it, I blew out the candles and joined Fenice in the bed.

"You're hair's gotten long," he commented as he began absent mindedly playing with my hair once I laid my head on his chest.

I smirked, "It's been getting long."

"Just saying," he muttered, "Get some sleep, love."

"Mhmm," I muttered back sleepily, though sleep wouldn't take me as my mind was filled with too many thoughts.

I wasn't feeling well, but I wasn't feeling bad either. I had noticed the subtle changes in my appetite and how certain smells that never irritated me before, did so now. My eyes drifted down to my stomach. I remembered this feeling from when I was pregnant with Bree, then thanked God that nothing had happened to us on our journey. Then I noted that I, once again, needed to take a leave of absence from the Brotherhood, something I'd rather not do as I loved what I did, but I would enjoy being able to spend more time with Bree.

I looked back up at Fenice. He was sound asleep. With a soft sigh, I decided I'd tell him in the morning instead of waking him up for this. I was safe and unharmed, so it wasn't important now. I snuggled up closer to him and shut my eyes, sleep now able to find me.

When I awoke, Fenice had already risen and was out of the room, probably making sure Bree was up. I got up out of the bed and dressed in my grey pants and white shirt before pulling on my boots and leaving the room. The other assassins bustled to and fro, making the halls a bit louder then normal. Everyone I asked abut Fenice's whereabouts all had the same answer, saying that they hadn't seen him yet. When I saw that Bree wasn't in her room, I shrugged it off, figuring that he had taken her out to continue her lessons and went down to the dinning hall.

No sooner had I enter the room, did I hear my name shouted from across the room.

"Gabriella!" Eagle shouted as she waved her hands in the air.

Thus was the way she always acted, usually too hyper for her own good, but that's why we all loved her like a sister. I nodded and made my way over to her.

"Hello to you too, Eagle," I said as I sat down.

She sat next to me, a large smile plastered on her face, "You look like you have news."

"Yes," I said, offering a soft smile back, "Have you seen Fenice? I need to talk to him."

She thought for a moment, then nodded, "He took Bree out for a ride. Is it about your news?"

"Da."

"Tell me!"

"I thin-"

"Please!"

"Okay, okay!" I said, a nervous smile on my face.

"Well," she said as she leaned forward expectantly, "What is it?"

"Bree's going to have a little sibling," I said softly.

Her expression went blank before she stood and took me by my arm, pulling me after her as we headed out of the dinning hall.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To the stables! Fenice should be back soon!"

We sat at the stables for what felt like forever waiting for Fenice and Bree to get back. We had long since run out of things to talk about and were now just staring out into space. Time ticked by slowly, making the wait seem longer then what it actually was.

"Mamma!" I heard Bree shout out as she as she came running over to me and brought me out of my daydreaming.

"Bree," I said, giving her a kiss on her forehead, "Go train with Aunite Eagle for a while, okay?"

"But you said we would train together today," she whined.

I smiled at here, "We will. I just need to talk to Tata about some grown up stuff first."

She frowned, "Okay, Mamma," then turned around and walked over to Eagle before they headed out of the stables and back into the city.

Fenice placed a kiss on my cheek, "What do you need to talk to me about, love?"

"Fenice," I said giving him a serious look, "I need to take a leave of absence from the Brotherhood."

He gave me a concerned look, "What? Why? Did you get hurt?"

"No, I'm not hurt," I said, raising my hands to stop his worried ones, "Fenice, we're going to have another child."

His face went blank, "But you don- How are you sure?"

"A mother just knows," I said as I placed a kiss on his lips, "Now, let's go tell Bree. I wanted you to know first."

He nodded, an incoherent look in his eyes, probably thinking about what happened last time again. I smiled at him as I took his hand and we headed out to find Bree.


	5. Chapter 5

Three years later….

Threes had passed since Fenice and I had our second child, whom we dubbed with the name of Caine Leon de Russo, after our brothers. He was now two and a half and our daughter Bree was ten and well on her way to become an excellent assassin and con artist. Nothing like what had happened with my first pregnancy had happened this time around, which had left us overjoyed.

But we didn't sleep easy despite this…

Templars activity was down and it left me with a very uneasy feeling, and the dislike of the idea of heading back to Jerusalem to introduce my son to my parents. But they urged and everyone said not to worry about, just to see it as a good thing for now and a chance to hone our skills so we were ready for whatever the Templars were plotting. I didn't like it, but I already didn't see my parents as much as they would like anyways, so I had no place to refuse, especially when everything was so quiet. No matter how uneasy it left me.

Within three days of deciding that we were actually going to travel to Jerusalem we had left and were well on our way there. The quiet was almost nerve reeking. Never had we seen so few guards, much less civilians. It was weird. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fenice fidget uneasily in his saddle and Bree look around in confusion from hers. So they sensed it too. I looked down at Caine. He was sound asleep in my saddle. It was a relief that he didn't understand everything that was going on or what worried the rest of us so much. At least that was one thing I didn't have to worry about. With any luck, though I knew it probably wouldn't happen, things would stay this quiet and nothing would happen to any of us. No, I didn't think it was good to think as such, but what was I suppose to hope for, an attack? No…that would be bad…horrible even…I didn't even know what would happen to Caine if he saw us fight the Templars. He knew about them, but I was certain he wasn't ready to see that much blood shed.

Fenice placed his hand on my thigh and gave me a worried look, "You alright, love?"

"Da," I nodded, "Just worried is all..."

He nodded, understanding what I was getting at. He looked worried too. Even if things weren't so quiet, I doubt we'd be any less worried.

A few days latter we arrived at the city, and then by nightfall we were at my parent's house. I held little Caine Leon, whom had fallen asleep and Fenice knocked on the door, with Bree standing between us. Within minutes, my father opened the door and ushered us in and to the main room where my mother was going through some old trinkets she had acquired a few years ago.

She looked up at us when we entered the room and gave us a smile, "Bună ziua, este minunat să te văd din nou baieti! (Hello, it's wonderful to see you guys again!)"

"Si e minunat sa se intoarca Mama (And it's wonderful to be back, Mother.)," I replied with a smile, "This is Caine Leon, Mama."

Caine stepped forward and held out his hand to her, "It's nice to meet you, Abuela."

"And it is nice to meet you, too, darling," she took his hand and shook it, "You know your Mama's brother is named Caine too?"

He feverishly nodded, "Si!"

My mother stood and put the trinkets she held on the small table nearby before looking at me, "I was just about to go to the market. Would you two like to come along?"

I gave a small smile and nodded before taking Caine's hand. He looked up at her and flashed her a smile, too, making her giggle. With that, the three of us left the house and walked down a few streets until we had reached the market square.

It was slightly crowded, causing Caine to grip my hand tighter. As we walked by the stalls I saw him look at each one with mild interest until he stayed facing the fruit stand we walked by. I stopped and knelt down so I was level with him while he looked at the food hungrily.

"You hungry, sweetie?" I asked, to which he nodded and I stood, releasing his hand before facing the vendor to buy a piece of the fruit.

As I paid the man, I heard him shout, "MOMMA!"

My eyes widened as I whipped around and saw someone running off with him. The fruit dropped to the ground as I took off, ignoring my mother's shouts as I did so. I had to catch them. I growled to myself as I caught a glimps of a symbol on the man's arm – the Templar cross – and sped up, though it wasn't helping any, the man was faster then me. He turned down a few crowded streets and I tried to keep up and keep him in sight, but couldn't. I collapsed on my knees, out of breath and gasping for air as tears started to run down my face.

"C-caine…." I whispered through gritted teeth, staring t the ground, "I will find you…"


	6. Chapter 6

"Gabri," Fenice grabbed my arm as he tried to stop from leaving, "Think this through. Let me come with you. You can't do this on your own."

I had all my weapons fashioned in their respective places on my body and was none too pleased by my husband's attempts to stop me. At this point, I was so upset, just answering him wouldn't be smart so I kept my mouth shut and pulled my arm from his grasp. I glanced at him and then at Bree. Both held pleading looks on their faces that begged me to stay, but I shook my head and headed out of the door. Fenice was right though. He had Eagle Vision and I did not, something that would be very useful in finding little Caine Leon. He had told me that his Eagle Vision allowed him to see a trail that lead from himself to his target. I shook my head to clear it. I didn't need anything like that to help me, such as I had proven on the missions I had gone on. I could find him easy enough just by listening and watching the people around. I was good at what I do, so it should be a simple task.

As the hours passed I wished I had brought Fenice along. This tasked proved to be harder than I thought it would be. There were a surprisingly few number of people who were talking about Templar activity out in the open and what was being said was of no help at all – mostly just complaints about what the Templierii do to get what they want. I let out an annoyed sigh as I turned down another dark alley. It was nearing dusk, and though I was both hungry and tired, I was by no means ready to go back to Fenice and my parents…not without little Caine Leon…and not in the mood I was in. I'd take my anger out on someone who didn't deserve it and didn't have anything to do with what had happened. And on top of all this, the alley I was now walking down didn't leave me with a very good feeling. There was something about it that just left me with an eerie feeling. Like I was being followed, but whenever I turned around, nobody seemed to be following me. I shook the feeling off and continued down the alley, carefully listening to everything around me.

Then I heard it - footsteps that resonated against the ground differently from the others around me. I looked over my shoulders again, and upon seeing no one who was actually following me, I took off at a run and scaled the wall of the building at the end of the alley, not caring who saw and just wanting to get out of it. My son was already captured. There was no way in Hell I would allow myself to become captured as well. It just wasn't a possibility in my mind. I knew what happened to prisoners of war and I couldn't leave Fenice to raise Bree on his own…not that I thought he'd be able to if I died…he'd probably be too much of an emotional wreak should that happen. As I continued to run, I heard the footsteps follow after me, matching my pace then speeding up.

I hopped a gap between the roofs an continued running, not feeling as though the distance I was attempting to put between myself an my follower was enough. Soon I reached the edge of the build we were on. It was too far to jump, with nothing around to aide me across, and with there being no hay cart around and as high as we had climbed, I wasn't comfortable with just jumping off. I turned around to face the person who had been following me, my short blade drawn. Surprise crossed my face and I took a step backwards as I saw that the man who had been following me was the same person who had taken Caine Leon. I growled and readied my stance as he took a step closer. I recognized the uniform the man wore. It was the same as what Daniel had worn and the other Teutonic knight wore when they had occupied the town in Romania I was from. I gripped the hilt of my short blade tighter. These bastards had messed up my life once, I wasn't about to let that happen to me again or any of my family. He just stood there, smirking at me, though. Not making any move to come closer, just staying there. Something wasn't adding up. Why would he just stand there when he could just as easily engaged me in battle and see what happened?

"No need to look so intense, un pic (little one)," he said, opening his arms, "Sunt sigur că te-ar plăcea să merg acasă, din nou, nu ar tine? (I'm sure you'd love to go home again, wouldn't you?)"

"Nu cu tine (Not with you)," I said and charged at him.

He side stepped my attack and grabbed my arm, pulling it backwards before shoving me to the ground.

"Now, now, no need to act like that, un pic. My boss wants you alive, not dead," he said, binding my wrists behind my back and pulling me to my feet.

"Let me go! What have you done with my son?" I screeched as I tried to free myself rather unsuccessfully.

"That's enough of that!" was the last thing I heard as I felt something strike me in the back of my head and everything went black.

I slowly came to, my vision fuzzy. The room was dim, only hazy light coming through a blocked window from behind me somewhere. I turned my head side to side, not seeing much in the dim light. I couldn't move my arms to rub my eyes and only now did I notice all the bindings that kept me from moving. I couldn't even get a word out through the gag that had been placed over my mouth. This didn't make sense…where had I been taken? Hell, why had I been taken? My thoughts were fuzzy and unclear, making this whole situation make even less sense then what it already was.

A soft whimpering beside me caught my attention and I turned my head. My eyes widened when I saw little Caine Leon, but no sooner had relief set in, did the furry when I noticed the cut that was on his left cheek, just under his eye. He was covered in dirt and sand, obvious fear covering his face. It killed me to see him so scared and he didn't seem to notice that I was conscious. I nudged him slightly with my elbow as best I could. He looked up at me and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Momma!" he shouted and I noticed that they had failed to gag him, then I noticed they had also failed to tie him, probably because he was petrified with fear. "Momma, why are you all tied up?" He paused a moment to see if I would answer. When I didn't he continued, "Hold on, Momma! I'll help you!"

"Mulţumesc (Thank you.)," I said after he had removed the gag, "Once you're done helping me, run Caine. Run back to Papa and get his he-"

"But I wanna help you, Momma!" he cried as he finished untying me.

"Caine, vă rog (please), do as I ask," I whispered and hugged him, "Get Papa and bring him here, then go hide."

"But Mo-"

"Stop," I whispered harshly, "Do as I say and don't question it. Just do it," I looked around and pointed, "The exit is over there. Now go."

He nodded once and took of running. As I watched, I sighed and silently prayed that he would make it back safely.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Another chapter by Sorafi Lynn Mioto! Hope you like!**

There are times in life where I wish that I wasn't just sitting around while the world around me fell apart.

Like when my older brother was murdered and when my conscience was eating me alive before Bree was born.

However, I knew I had to do something when Gabriella walked out to go search for Caine.

I just didn't know what.

"Tata, where's Mama?" Bree asked, looking up from the parchment and quill that was placed in front of her.

I honestly did not know where Gabriella was. "She's out with your little brother."

"Why?"

"Because she wanted to take Caine around town."

"Why don't you and me go, Tata? Or me and Mama and you take Caine?" Bree asked, scribbling on the parchment with the quill.

"Because your mother wanted to have some quality time with Caine."

"But I want to spend time with Mama too!"

I opened my mouth to say something when I heard someone knock on the door. Rather rapidly.

"I wanna get it!" Bree announced, dropping her quill into the inkpot and making a beeline for the door.

I chuckled and glanced at the parchment. Since Malik started teaching Bree how to read and write, Bree would spend time writing everyone's names on parchment. She would even write her full name.

"Tata! It's Caine! And he's hurt! And without Mama!"

I turned around to see Caine running towards me. "Papa! Papa!" He was shouting, tears running down his face. I immediately noticed the cut below his eye.

I bent down and Caine ran into my arms, crying. "Caine, what happened to you?" I asked.

"They...they..."

"Caine, can you calm down and tell me what's wrong?" I asked.

"They got Mama! They got Mama!"

Thoughts of the worst ran through my head. "Who's 'they', Caine?"

"Tata, I think he means the Templars." Bree replied.

Caine nodded, pulling himself out of my arms. "Mama said...for me to...hide..."

I stood up and made my way back to the bedroom. Caine and Bree both followed.

"Bree, I want you to go back to what you were doing, okay?" I asked, putting on my robes.

"But I wanna help find Mama!"

"Bree, listen to me." I turned around, still slipping my robes on, and said, "These people will hurt you. They will hurt me and your mother as well. They already have hurt your little brother."

"But I wanna help!"

"Gabriella Anna, you will stay here. Understand me!"

"Da." Bree replied, a tone of annoyance in her voice. She shuffled off, leaving Caine behind.

"Caine, I want you to listen to me." I replied, my robes on and weapons strapped in, "You have to show me where Mama is, okay?"

"Mama said I have to hide once I got you."

"You have to show me where Mama is, okay?"

Caine nodded and asked, "Can I ride on your back, Papa?"

"I'd rather you didn't, Caine. Just in case we run into some trouble."

"Please?" Caine asked, his voice trembling.

I rolled my eyes, but smiled. "Alright. However, if I tell you do get off and run, you run, understand?"

"Run to where?"

"Use your Eagle vision. The best spots to hide in appear as white, okay?"

Caine nodded and bounced up and down. I crouched down and felt Caine crawl on my back. His arms wrapped lightly around my neck and I walked out, looked at Bree, and said, "Stay here."

"Why does Caine get to go!"

"He's helping me find your mother."

Bree huffed and crossed her arms defiantly in front of her chest. "Fine. But I should get to go on a mission too."

"You will when you're older." I replied before opening the door and taking off, scaling the building in front of me.

I understood why Caine wanted to ride piggyback. I hadn't taught him how to scale walls yet.

As Caine directed me towards where Gabri was imprisoned, I could only pray that Gabri was safe.


	8. Chapter 8

Another slap hit my cheek, the man's ring leaving a deep cut from the top of my cheek bone to the corner of my mouth. They had bound me again, causing my forearm to break as they forcefully removed my hidden blade, after finding me untied. I growled at the man and he slapped me again before pulling one of the blades that was hidden from its holster at my waist and turned away from me, seemingly admiring it.

"Interesting shape this blade has," he commented, turning back to me, "Makes me wonder how it would carve up that pretty little face of yours. Might even get me some answers…"

I silently glared at him in response.

"Still silent, I see," he gently ran the blade along my throat, tracing the veins, "Tell me the location of the assassin base, or it will be your children's lives before your own."

My eyes shot daggers at him as I clenched my teeth together.

He took the sharp end of the knife and curved it upward from the side of my jaw, drawing blood, "You would really sacrifice your children like that? Who knew the Kalbs were so…egoist (selfish)…not even giving the tineri (youngsters) time to live? And what would your husband say to this?"

My silence and I turned my head to look away from him, only for him to roughly grip my chin and turn my head to face him again.

"How about something easy then?" he said, "Where are your înşelător (deceiving) parents?"

I smirked then replied snidely, "Nu aici, idiotule (Not here, idiot.)."

He slapped me again, "Worthless curvă (whore/slut)."

"Yes, because you would know all about that kind of thing!" I shouted, spitting in his face, "It's a good thing people like me get rid of people like you!"

He went to slap me again, but was stopped. A hand gripped his wrist tightly. The man turned and looked over his shoulder at who had stopped him, furry burning in his eyes. I looked up and smiled, seeing Fenice, a none too pleased look on his face as he let out a low growl.

"Keep. Your. Hands. Off. My. Wife," he growled at the man before his fist connected with my captor's face.

The man gripped his nose and Fenice let him go as he fell to the ground. Fenice walked up to me and silently cut the ropes that held me in place, freeing me.

He whispered in my ear, "Go find Caine and head to the Bureau. I'll take care of this."

"No," I whispered harshly back, "I'm saying here and helping you."

He sighed and looked over at my captor before looking back at me, "You can help by staying safe and hidden."

I frowned at him as he turned his back and face the man again, who was now back up on his feet, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. The man pulled out his sword and I heard Fenice's hidden blade slide seamlessly out of its sheath. Then all of a sudden, the clashing sound of blade on blade reverberated through the room. The man made his way around Fenice, slowly inching towards me as I pulled a small throwing knife from my boot. It might not be much or able to do much against a sword, but hell it was definitely worth a shot. He leapt at Fenice and in a swift and much faster motion, I threw the knife at the man's neck, grazing his skin, but it was deep enough to let the blood flow freely from the wound.

It didn't stop my captor though.

He still managed to take Fenice to the ground, jabbing a small knife into Fenice's side, making him gasp. My brows furrowed and my eyes filled with rage as I lunged at him, ignoring the agonizing pain in my arm from its break and shoved the man off Fenice, fighting with him for the sword or the knife…it didn't matter to me which one I got so long as I got my hands on one or the other so I could decapitate his pathetic ass.

He shoved me to the side so I was on my back and he held his sword to my neck, a threatening gleam in his eyes. I gritted my teeth and showed no emotion as the cold steel touched my neck. As scared as I was right then, I knew it best not to let him know of it.

The man smirked, but that smirk quickly disappeared. Fenice had gotten back up on his feet and drove his own sword through the man's back, making it exit through his chest. Both the man and I looked at the blade before he collapsed, dead, on the ground next to me.

Fenice held out a blood soaked hand to me as he tried to catch his breath and I shakily took it. No sooner was I back on my feet; he hugged me as tightly as he could and kissed my face all over.

"Don't ever scare me like that again," he whispered before kissing me once more.

He let out a soft chuckle, "I'll try not to. Now, let's go get you some help."

He nodded, hugged me again, and then the two of us left the building, headed for the bureau.


End file.
